1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water treatment systems, and particularly to various embodiments of water aeration capsules and dispensing means therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
The contamination of various bodies of water by various means is an increasingly serious problem worldwide. Perhaps the most widespread contaminants are organic materials that enter the water system due to pollution from human habitation either directly or indirectly, e.g., pollution from farms and the like. Such pollution can affect inland fresh water supplies (lakes and rivers), and can also be carried to the sea by inland rivers and waterways or by direct discharge of sewage and/or other pollutants into the sea. Organic material in the sewage of treatment plants is another example of such pollution, albeit contained for processing. The biochemical processes that occur in water due to such organic pollution are well known to decrease the oxygen content of the water, thereby reducing or perhaps even destroying fish and other aquatic life in the contaminated body of water. Even if some fish remain in the polluted water, they are almost certainly unfit for human consumption if caught.
It is generally considered that the most effective means of eliminating such pollutants in contaminated water is by bacteriological processing, wherein bacteria process the contaminants to break them down into harmless organic materials. However, such bacteria are aerobic, i.e., they require oxygen for their metabolism. This is well known in the sewage treatment field, where water is commonly treated by aeration after solids are removed by settling or other means. Such aeration is generally accomplished by mechanical means, e.g., pumping the water up for dispensing into the air from spray booms and nozzles, or perhaps by forcing air through underwater pipes for the air to bubble up through the water. Such mechanical systems are relatively costly to operate and require relatively high energy and manpower costs. Even if such systems were less costly to operate, a huge drawback is that they cannot be readily transported to a pollution site for operation at that site. Rather, the water must be transported to the location of the aeration system, a process that is clearly unworkable on a very large scale and/or over very long distances.
Thus, water aeration capsules solving the aforementioned problems are desired.